He retired as a master sergeant of the U.S. Army after 30 years, serving during World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He was in the first class of recipients of the Bishop Gartland Award honored by the Diocese of Savannah in 2000. He was a member of Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.

Funeral Mass is 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary on-the-Hill Catholic Church, the Rev. Gerald Ragan officiating. Burial with full military honors is at Pineview Memorial Gardens, North Augusta.